# Golden Valley County, Montana

Golden Valley County is a county located in the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 823, making it the third-least populous county in Montana. Its county seat is Ryegate.

## Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,176 square miles (3,050 km$^2$), of which 1,175 square miles (3,040 km$^2$) is land and 1.0 square mile (2.6 km$^2$) (0.08%) is water. It is Montana's fifth-smallest county by area.

### Major highways

* U.S. Highway 12
* Montana Highway 3

### Adjacent counties

* Fergus County – north
* Musselshell County – east
* Yellowstone County – southeast
* Stillwater County – south
* Sweet Grass County – southwest
* Wheatland County – west

### National protected area

* Lewis and Clark National Forest (part)

## Politics

The county has usually favored Republican candidates. The 2016 Democratic candidate only received 71 county votes, the lowest ever for a major party in the county in a presidential election. The last Democrat to win there was Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide victory.
United States presidential election results for Golden Valley County, Montana :
| Year | Republican | Republican | Democratic | Democratic | Third party(ies) | Third party(ies) |
| Year | No. | % | No. | % | No. | % |
| 2024 | 440 | 85.44% | 67 | 13.01% | 8 | 1.55% |
| 2020 | 414 | 82.31% | 78 | 15.51% | 11 | 2.19% |
| 2016 | 365 | 77.00% | 71 | 14.98% | 38 | 8.02% |
| 2012 | 351 | 73.28% | 110 | 22.96% | 18 | 3.76% |
| 2008 | 343 | 69.72% | 124 | 25.20% | 25 | 5.08% |
| 2004 | 396 | 75.86% | 119 | 22.80% | 7 | 1.34% |
| 2000 | 405 | 76.27% | 88 | 16.57% | 38 | 7.16% |
| 1996 | 284 | 58.20% | 128 | 26.23% | 76 | 15.57% |
| 1992 | 192 | 38.71% | 142 | 28.63% | 162 | 32.66% |
| 1988 | 335 | 61.69% | 203 | 37.38% | 5 | 0.92% |
| 1984 | 384 | 64.00% | 211 | 35.17% | 5 | 0.83% |
| 1980 | 362 | 65.11% | 155 | 27.88% | 39 | 7.01% |
| 1976 | 302 | 53.08% | 255 | 44.82% | 12 | 2.11% |
| 1972 | 359 | 64.92% | 170 | 30.74% | 24 | 4.34% |
| 1968 | 332 | 60.04% | 194 | 35.08% | 27 | 4.88% |
| 1964 | 252 | 41.72% | 352 | 58.28% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1960 | 362 | 56.65% | 277 | 43.35% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1956 | 383 | 59.94% | 256 | 40.06% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1952 | 471 | 70.40% | 198 | 29.60% | 0 | 0.00% |
| 1948 | 352 | 53.09% | 295 | 44.49% | 16 | 2.41% |
| 1944 | 395 | 59.67% | 266 | 40.18% | 1 | 0.15% |
| 1940 | 402 | 52.96% | 351 | 46.25% | 6 | 0.79% |
| 1936 | 331 | 40.32% | 474 | 57.73% | 16 | 1.95% |
| 1932 | 423 | 46.38% | 469 | 51.43% | 20 | 2.19% |
| 1928 | 625 | 63.91% | 346 | 35.38% | 7 | 0.72% |
| 1924 | 422 | 37.88% | 118 | 10.59% | 574 | 51.53% |
| 1920 | 1,185 | 72.57% | 381 | 23.33% | 67 | 4.10% |

## Demographics
### 2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 823 people living in the county.

### 2010 census

As of the 2010 census, there were 884 people, 363 households, and 239 families residing in the county. The population density was 0.8 inhabitants per square mile (0.31/km$^2$). There were 476 housing units at an average density of 0.4 per square mile (0.15/km$^2$). The racial makeup of the county was 94.0% white, 1.0% American Indian, 0.7% Asian, 2.1% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population. In terms of ancestry, 38.9% were German, 19.5% were English, 18.4% were Irish, 10.1% were Polish, 9.0% were American, 7.3% were Danish, 6.4% were Dutch, and 6.2% were Norwegian.
Of the 363 households, 20.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, 34.2% were non-families, and 29.5% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.68. The median age was 48.8 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $35,726 and the median income for a family was $48,750. Males had a median income of $33,750 versus $27,938 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,319. About 3.4% of families and 10.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 21.7% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.

## Communities
### Towns

* Lavina
* Ryegate (county seat)

### Census-designated place

* Golden Valley Colony

### Unincorporated communities

* Barber
* Belmont
* Franklin
* Lavina